Monday, October 17, 2005

Crowespective: I am a golden god

The success of Jerry Maguire afforded Cameron Crowe the luxury of finally being able to write the story that he knew best... his own. Almost Famous (originally called, Untitled, but studio nixed idea) is based on his own life story as a teen who gets the opportunity to write for Rolling Stone Magazine and follow an up-and-coming band, Stillwater (the actual group that Crowe first toured with was The Allman Brothers - Gregg Allman kept accusing him of being a narc.)

While LedZep has yet to make themselves digitally available, the rest of the soundtrack is well represented (34 songs - there were 50 total in the film for a music budget of $3.5 million!) and the legends of classic rock that Crowe followed at the time are all there. The Allman Brothers, Free, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, David Bowie, The Guess Who, and of course the Crowemoment of all the folks singing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" on the bus. It's been rumored Crowe gave actor Patrick Fugit a list of albums to listen to in preparation for his role as William Miller, Crowe's young alter-ego. (Play it: Almost Famous 101 - Patrick Fugit's lesson.) Not surprisingly, this list is similar to the LP's William Miller (Fugit) flips through near the beginning of the movie (Play it: Almost Famous - LP's young William flips through.)

Definitely a movie that's worth many repeated viewings... there are a lot of classic rock references thrown in throughout the film that are easily missed:

The Allman Brothers: The opening scene we briefly see a ticket stub from an Allman Brothers concert. Later, a b&w photo of the fictional band Stillwater echoes the Allman Brothers' famous Live at the Fillmore East album cover. The character Red Dog is named after one of the Allman Brothers' famous roadies.

Led Zeppelin: When Russell (Billy Crudup) cries out, "I am a Golden God!" this is a reference to Robert Plant, who reportedly said the same thing staring over the Sunset Strip. Sapphire (Faruza Balk) says "does anybody remember laughter?" which references a phrase that Plant threw into live performances of "Stairway to Heaven."

Eric Stolz watch: "We broke the streak," says a chagrined Crowe. "We couldn't quite find the right part. I wanted him to be Bowie. I thought that would be great. But I got the word back that I was going in the wrong direction, size-of-part wise." A marquee that would appear when the band's bus came into Cleveland would read: "Coming Aug. 9, Miles Davis. Coming Aug. 10, Gram Parsons. Coming Aug. 11, The Crazy World of Eric Stoltz." "I figured no matter what happens, Eric's in. But we spent too long shooting the "Tiny Dancer" sing-along scene. And I lost the marquee shot." Crowe vows to make up for the oversight in his next movie. "Eric will do a double cameo." (The Uncool)